Display device and electronic device

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, a display device includes a housing, a circuit board device, a fan, a first wall portion, and a second wall portion. The housing includes an exhaust port. The circuit board device is housed in the housing and includes a circuit board having a first surface and a second surface, a first portion including the first surface, and a second portion including the second surface. The fan includes an ejection port and is housed in the housing at a position separated from the exhaust port to send cooling wind from the ejection port toward the first portion and the second portion. The first wall portion is located between the inner surface of the housing and the first portion, and constitutes a first ventilation path. The second wall portion is located between the inner surface of the housing and the second portion, and constitutes a second ventilation path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2011-050516, filed Mar. 8, 2011, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a display deviceprovided with a cooling fan and an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Some display devices and electronic devices are provided with a coolingfan that cools a cooling target component mounted on a circuit board.

Recently, such display devices and electronic devices are required tosuppress an increase in load on the circuit board as well as to improvecooling efficiency achieved by the cooling fan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A general architecture that implements the various features of theinvention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Thedrawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrateembodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of an electronic deviceaccording to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary plan view illustrating a lower wall of theelectronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating the lower wall anda peripheral wall of the electronic device of FIG. 1 in the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary plan view illustrating an inside of theelectronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating the inside of theelectronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating an inside of thelower wall of the electronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating an inside of anupper wall of the electronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary plan view illustrating the inside of theelectronic device of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary schematic sectional view taken along line F9-F9of the electronic device of FIG. 8 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line F10-F10 ofFIG. 8 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line F11-F11 ofFIG. 8 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line F12-F12 ofFIG. 8 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary cross-sectional view schematically illustratingthe inside of the electronic device of FIG. 8 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line F14-F14 ofFIG. 13 in the first embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary cross-sectional view schematically illustratinga duct structure of the electronic device of FIG. 8 in the firstembodiment;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary cross-sectional view schematically illustratingthe duct structure of the electronic device of FIG. 8 in the firstembodiment;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a ductstructure according to a first modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 18 is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a ductstructure according to a second modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 19A is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a ductstructure according to a third modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 19B is an exemplary exploded sectional view illustrating the ductstructure of the third modification;

FIG. 20 is an exemplary sectional view illustrating a duct structureaccording to a fourth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 21 is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a fanaccording to a fifth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 22 is an exemplary plan view illustrating an inside of anelectronic device according to a sixth modification of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 23 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating an inside of alower wall of an electronic device according to a seventh modificationof the first embodiment;

FIG. 24 is an exemplary plan view schematically illustrating a region Aof FIG. 23 in the seventh modification;

FIG. 25 is an exemplary plan view illustrating an inside of anelectronic device according to an eighth modification of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 26 is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a ductstructure according to a ninth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 27 is an exemplary cross-sectional view illustrating a ductstructure according to a tenth modification of the first embodiment; and

FIG. 28 is an exemplary perspective view of a display device accordingto a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to one embodiment, a display device comprises ahousing, a circuit board device, a fan, a first wall portion, and asecond wall portion. The housing comprises an exhaust port. The circuitboard device is housed in the housing and comprises a circuit boardprovided with a first surface and a second surface located opposite thefirst surface, a first portion including the first surface, and a secondportion including the second surface and located opposite the firstportion with respect to the circuit board. The fan comprises an ejectionport and is housed in the housing at a position separated from theexhaust port. The fan is configured to send cooling wind from theejection port toward the first portion and the second portion of thecircuit board device. The first wall portion is located between theinner surface of the housing and the first portion in contact with thefirst portion. The first wall portion constitutes a first ventilationpath extending from the ejection port through the side of the firstportion of the circuit board device to the exhaust port. The second wallportion is located between the inner surface of the housing and thesecond portion in contact with the second portion. The second wallportion overlaps the first wall portion with the circuit board devicetherebetween. The second wall portion constitutes a second ventilationpath extending from the ejection port through the side of the secondportion of the circuit board device to the exhaust port.

Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail below with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The embodiments will be described by wayof example as being applied to a notebook personal computer (PC) or atelevision.

FIGS. 1 to 21 illustrate an electronic device 1 according to a firstembodiment. The electronic device 1 may be, for example, a notebook PC.The electronic device 1 is not limited to a notebook PC but may be anyother electronic device including, for example, a display device such asa television, a video recorder, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or agame machine.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 comprises a main body2, a display module 3, and a hinge 4. The main body 2 has a main boardmounted thereon. The main body 2 comprises a housing 5. The housing 5comprises an upper wall 6, a lower wall 7, and a peripheral wall 8 andis formed into a flat box-like shape.

When the electronic device 1 is placed on a desk, the lower wall 7 facesthe upper surface of the desk in substantially parallel thereto. Theupper wall 6 lies substantially in parallel to (i.e., substantiallyhorizontal to) the lower wall 7 with a space therebetween. A keyboard 9is attached to the upper wall 6. The peripheral wall 8 extendsvertically from the lower wall 7 to connect a rim of the lower wall 7and a rim of the upper wall 6.

The housing 5 comprises a base 11 and a cover 12. The base 11 includesthe lower wall 7 and part of the peripheral wall 8. The cover 12includes the upper wall 6 and part of the peripheral wall 8. The cover12 is combined with the base 11 to form the housing 5.

The housing 5 comprises a rear end 13 (first end) and a front end 14(second end) located opposite the rear end 13. The display module 3 isrotatably connected to the rear end 13. The peripheral wall 8 comprisesa front wall 8 a, a rear wall 8 b, a left sidewall 8 c, and a rightsidewall 8 d. The front wall 8 a extends in the width direction(horizontal direction) of the housing 5 at the front end 14. The rearwall 8 b extends in the width direction of the housing 5 at the rear end13. The left sidewall 8 c and the right sidewall 8 d extend in the depthdirection (front-back direction) of the housing 5 to connect ends of thefront wall 8 a and the rear wall 8 b.

The display module 3 is connected to the rear end 13 of the main body 2by the hinge 4 to be rotatable between open and closed positions. Thedisplay module 3 is rotatable between the closed position where thedisplay module 3 lies as covering the main body 2 from above and theopened position where the display module 3 is raised from the main body2.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the display module 3 comprises a displayhousing 15 and a display panel 16 housed in the display housing 15. Adisplay screen 16 a of the display panel 16 can be exposed to theoutside through an opening 15 a provided in the front wall of thedisplay housing 15.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the upper wall 6 comprises a keyboard placingportion 17 to which the keyboard 9 is attached and a palm rest 18. Thepalm rest 18 is provided in front of the keyboard placing portion 17,i.e., between the keyboard placing portion 17 and the front wall 8 a. Asillustrated in FIG. 10, the keyboard placing portion 17 is recessed inthe housing 5 with respect to the palm rest 18. Therefore, the uppersurface of the keyboard 9 attached to the keyboard placing portion 17 issubstantially at the same level as or slightly higher than the uppersurface of the palm rest 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of legs 19 are provided in thelower wall 7 of the housing 5. The legs 19 come in contact with theupper surface of the desk, whereby the lower wall 7 of the housing 5 issupported at a position separated from the upper surface of the desk. Asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 5 comprises a first air inletport 21, a second air inlet port 22 (see FIG. 3), a third air inlet port23, and a fourth air inlet port 36. For example, the first air inletport 21, the second air inlet port 22, the third air inlet port 23, andthe fourth air inlet port 36 are concentrated in the left front end ofthe housing 5 while separated from one another. As illustrated in FIG.6, the first air inlet ports 21 are provided in a circular opposingportion 7 d provided in the lower wall 7 of the housing 5. The circularopposing portion 7 d is provided opposite a cooling fan 24. A traverseportion 7 e is formed in the circular opposing portion 7 d. A harness ofthe cooling fan 24 is attached to an inner surface of the traverseportion 7 e, and the harness is covered with the traverse portion 7 e.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the first air inlet port 21, the third airinlet port 23, and the fourth air inlet port 36 are provided in thelower wall 7. The first air inlet port 21 is located below the coolingfan 24 while facing the cooling fan 24. The third air inlet port 23 hasthe opening between the first air inlet port 21 and the front wall 8 aat a location out of underneath of the cooling fan 24. The fourth airinlet port 36 has the opening between the first air inlet port 21 andthe left sidewall 8 c at a location below the cooling fan 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the second air inlet port 22 is provided inthe left sidewall 8 c. The second air inlet port 22 is an openingthrough which various connectors 25 are exposed. The second air inletport 22 causes external air to flow in the housing 5 through a gapbetween the connector 25 and the housing 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the housing 5 comprises a first exhaust port26 and a second exhaust port 27. The first exhaust port 26 is providedin the left sidewall 8 c at the rear end 13 of the housing 5. Forexample, the first exhaust port 26 is located from a lateral portion tothe backside of the keyboard 9. The first exhaust port 26 laterallyfaces a heat sink 28. The second exhaust port 27 is provided in thelower wall 7 at the rear end 13 of the housing 5 and faces the heat sink28 from underneath. The second exhaust ports 27 are provided along thefront-back direction, and a plurality of recesses 37 are formed betweenthe second exhaust ports 27 along the front-back direction. The recesses37 do not penetrate the lower wall 7. The size of the recess 37 issubstantially equal to that of the second exhaust port 27 in the planview. A pawl which latches the cover 12 is provided in the base 11 nearthe recess 37. The recess 37 enhances the rigidity of the base 11 nearthe pawl. As illustrated in FIG. 2, an opening 30 (see FIG. 2) isprovided in the lower wall 7 to expose a docking connector 29 to theoutside.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a circuit board 31, an optical disk drive(ODD) 32, a storage device 33, the heat sink 28, a heat pipe 34, aradiator plate 35, and the cooling fan 24 are housed in the housing 5.For example, the circuit board 31 is a main board.

The circuit board 31 comprises a first surface 31 a (see FIG. 10) and asecond surface 31 b (see FIG. 10) located opposite the first surface 31a. While the first surface 31 a and the second surface 31 b areillustrated by way of example as the lower surface and the uppersurface, respectively, the first surface 31 a may be the upper surfacewhile the second surface 31 b may be the lower surface.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8, electronic components are mounted onthe first surface 31 a of the circuit board 31. Examples of theelectronic components include a central processing unit (CPU) 41, aplatform controller hub (PCH) 42, a power-circuit component 43, a memoryslot connector 44, an LCD connector 45, an I/O connector 46, a firstpower-supply coil, and a second power-supply coil.

The circuit board 31 and the electronic components such as the CPU 41and the PCH 42 mounted thereon constitute a circuit board device 38 andare housed in the housing 5. The circuit board device 38 comprises afirst portion 38 a that includes the first surface 31 a of the circuitboard 31 and a second portion 38 b (see FIG. 10) that includes thesecond surface 31 b of the circuit board 31 and is located opposite thefirst portion 38 a with respect to the circuit board 31. The upper innersurface of the inner surface of the housing 5 includes an inner surface6 a of the upper wall 6, while the lower inner surface of the innersurface of the housing 5 includes an inner surface 7 a of the lower wall7. The circuit board device 38 is located between the inner surface 6 aand the inner surface 7 a.

The CPU 41 is an example of a first heat generating element andgenerates the largest amount of heat in the circuit board 31. The PCH 42is an example of a second heat generating element which can be cooledby, for example, natural heat release. The power-circuit component 43 isan example of a third heat generating element and generates a relativelylarge amount of heat amount in the circuit board 31.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, a power-circuit component 49 is mounted onthe second surface 31 b of the circuit board 31. The power-circuitcomponent 49 is an example of a heat generating element. The heatgenerating elements mounted on the circuit board 31 are not limited tothe above components.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a direction from the front end 14 of thehousing 5 toward the rear end 13 is defined as a first direction D1. Adirection from the right sidewall 8 d toward the left sidewall 8 c,which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction D1, isdefined as a second direction D2. An ejection port 24 c of the coolingfan 24, which will be described later, is opened in the first directionD1.

The right, left, top, and bottom are defined herein based on a normalorientation (orientation of FIG. 1) of the electronic device 1.Therefore, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 7, expressions of theright and left and the top and bottom are inverted in the description ofthe drawing in which the electronic device 1 is illustrated upside down.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the circuit board 31 is located below thekeyboard placing portion 17. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the circuit board31 comprises a first part 31 c located between the cooling fan 24 andthe heat sink 28 and a second part 31 d located out of a region betweenthe cooling fan 24 and the heat sink 28.

The cooling fan 24 faces the first part 31 c in the opening direction(the first direction D1) of the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan24. That is, the first part 31 c is directly exposed to cooling windejected from the cooling fan 24. The first part 31 c faces the heat sink28 in the second direction D2. On the other hand, the second part 31 ddoes not face the cooling fan 24 in the opening direction of theejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24.

The CPU 41 and the power-circuit component 43 are mounted on the firstpart 31 c of the circuit board 31 and located between the heat sink 28and the cooling fan 24. The PCH 42 is mounted on the second part 31 d ofthe circuit board 31 and located out of the region between the coolingfan 24 and the heat sink 28.

The heat sink 28 of FIGS. 4 and 12 is an example of a radiation portionand is a fin unit comprising a plurality of fins. The heat sink 28 islocated at the rear end 13 of the housing 5 to face the first exhaustport 26 of the housing 5. The heat sink 28 is located below the keyboardplacing portion 17. In the heat sink 28, the gap between the fins isoriented toward the first exhaust port 26. The heat pipe 34 and a secondheat pipe 39 are connected to the heat sink 28. The heat sink 28 ishoused in the housing 5 at a position facing the first exhaust port 26,and constitutes a ventilation path 91 (a first ventilation path 91 a anda second ventilation path 91 b). The electronic components are locatedin the first ventilation path 91 a and the second ventilation path 91 b.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the CPU 41 is connected to the heat sink 28through the radiator plate 35 and the heat pipe 34. The heat pipe 34 isan example of a heat transport member. The heat pipe 34 extends from theCPU 41 to the heat sink 28. The heat pipe 34 thermally connects the CPU41 to the heat sink 28 to move the heat of the CPU 41 to the heat sink28. That is, the heat pipe 34 connects the electronic component and theheat sink 28.

For example, the radiator plate 35 is a sheet-metal member. The radiatorplate 35 comprises a first part 35 a that faces the CPU 41 and isthermally connected to the CPU 41. For example, the radiator plate 35 isnot thermally connected to the power-circuit component 43.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the ODD 32 is located opposite the circuitboard 31 and housed on the right of the housing 5. The storage device 33may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD). The storage device 33 islocated at the front end 14 of the housing 5 and located adjacent to thecooling fan 24. The storage device 33 comprises a case 51 and a magneticdisk (not illustrated) housed in the case 51. Aside surface (end face)51 a of the case 51 is spread in a planar manner and laterally faces thecooling fan 24. The side surface 51 a of the case 51 forms an uprightwall located opposite the left sidewall 8 c of the housing 5 to face thecooling fan 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, for example, the cooling fan 24 is located atthe front end 14 on the left of the housing 5 while separated from theheat sink 28. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the cooling fan 24 is locatedbelow the palm rest 18. That is, the cooling fan 24 is located not belowthe keyboard placing portion 17 in which the housing 5 is relativelythin, but below the palm rest 18 in which the housing 5 is relativelythick. As illustrated in FIG. 10, a gap is provided between the coolingfan 24 and the lower wall 7 of the housing 5 and between the cooling fan24 and the upper wall 6 of the housing 5. As illustrated in FIG. 11, anopposing portion 6 c that vertically overlaps a rear end 24 e of thecooling fan 24 is provided in the upper wall 6 of the housing 5, whichfaces an upper portion of the rear end 24 e. The opposing portion 6 cnarrows a gap between a first chamber 61 and a second chamber 62, whichwill be described later.

The cooling fan 24 is a centrifugal fan, and comprises a fan case 53 andan impeller 54 that is rotated in the fan case 53. The fan case 53comprises a first suction port 24 a, a second suction port 24 b, and theejection port 24 c.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the fan case 53 comprises a lower surface 53a facing the lower wall 7, an upper surface 53 b located opposite thelower surface 53 a to face the upper wall 6, and a peripheral wall 53 cfacing the circuit board 31. The first suction port 24 a is provided inthe lower surface 53 a of the fan case 53 to face the first air inletport 21 of the lower wall 7. The second suction port 24 b is provided inthe upper surface 53 b of the fan case 53 and has the opening on theopposite side to the first suction port 24 a. The second suction port 24b faces the palm rest 18 with a gap interposed therebetween. A stepportion 53 d is formed in the upper surface 53 b according to the shapeof the housing 5 in which the thickness decreases toward the end. Inthis manner, the fan case 53 comprises the lower surface 53 a and theupper surface 53 b, which are of a pair of opposing surfaces that facethe inner surface of the housing 5, and the peripheral wall 53 c as theside surface provided between the pair of opposing surfaces (lowersurface 53 a and upper surface 53 b).

As illustrated in FIG. 10, as described above, the ejection port 24 c isopened in the first direction D1 and oriented toward the CPU 41 of thecircuit board 31. The thickness of the ejection port 24 c is larger thanthat of the circuit board 31. The circuit board 31 is located as beingclose to the side of the upper surface 53 b in the thickness directionof the ejection port 24 c, and faces the ejection port 24 c.

That is, the ejection port 24 c is vertically opened to the circuitboard 31. The ejection port 24 c comprises a first part 24 ca located onthe side of the first surface 31 a of the circuit board 31 and a secondpart 24 cb located on the side of the second surface 31 b of the circuitboard 31.

The cooling fan 24 sucks air in the housing 5 from the first suctionport 24 a and the second suction port 24 b, and ejects the air from theejection port 24 c toward the CPU 41. At this point, the cooling fan 24ejects the air to both the upper and lower sides of the circuit board31.

On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the thickness of the heatsink 28 is larger than that of the circuit board 31. The circuit board31 is located as being close to the upper end of the heat sink 28 in thethickness direction of the heat sink 28, and faces the heat sink 28.

That is, the heat sink 28 is vertically exposed to the circuit board 31.The heat sink 28 comprises a first part 28 a located on the side of thefirst surface 31 a of the circuit board 31 and a second part 28 blocated on the side of the second surface 31 b of the circuit board 31.The first part 28 a is exposed to the air that flows onto the side ofthe first surface 31 a of the circuit board 31. The second part 28 b isexposed to the air that flows onto the side of the second surface 31 bof the circuit board 31.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, an end of the circuit board 31 thatfaces the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 comprises a componentnon-mounted region 56. For example, the component non-mounted region 56has a width of 5 mm and extends in the width direction of the ejectionport 24 c along the rim of the circuit board 31. The componentnon-mounted region 56 is a margin that is placed on a rail of a mountingmachine in a process such as a reflow process, in which a component ismounted on the circuit board. In the component non-mounted region 56, nocomponent is mounted, and the flow of air ejected from the cooling fan24 is not likely to be obstructed.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the electronic device 1 comprises a windshield portion 64 that partitions the first chamber (first region) 61,the second chamber (second region) 62, and a third chamber (thirdregion) 63 in the housing 5. The first chamber 61 is an air inletchamber in which the cooling fan 24 sucks external air (fresh air). Thesecond chamber 62 is a duct through which cooling wind flows in aconcentrated manner from the cooling fan 24 to the heat sink 28, and inwhich components generating a relatively large amount of heat aremounted in a concentrated manner. For example, a component generating arelatively small amount of heat is housed in the third chamber 63. Theterm “chamber” as used herein refers to a region (part) in the housing5, and the chamber need not necessarily be completely shielded fromanother chamber (another region).

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, in the first embodiment, the wind shieldportion 64 comprises a first wall portion 71, a second wall portion 72,a third wall portion 73, and a fourth wall portion 74. The first wallportion 71, the second wall portion 72, the third wall portion 73, andthe fourth wall portion 74 are equivalent to a guide wall. The firstwall portion 71, the second wall portion 72, the third wall portion 73,and the fourth wall portion 74 are also equivalent to a wind introducingmember.

The first wall portion 71 is provided between the first portion 38 a ofthe circuit board device 38 and the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall7 constituting the upper inner surface of the inner surface of thehousing 5. The first wall portion 71 abuts on the first portion 38 a.The first wall portion 71 constitutes a first ventilation path 91 a fromthe ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 to the first exhaust port26 and the second exhaust port 27 through the side of the first portion38 a of the circuit board device 38.

The first wall portion 71 comprises a first portion 71 a and a secondportion 71 b. The first portion 71 a reaches near the rear portion ofthe heat sink 28 from near the right of the ejection port 24 c of thecooling fan 24 through an interval between the memory slot connector 44and the CPU 41. The second portion 71 b reaches near the front portionof the heat sink 28 from near the left of the ejection port 24 c of thecooling fan 24. Part of the first portion 71 a of the first wall portion71 is separated from the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 andlocated at a position facing the ejection port 24 c.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the first wall portion 71 comprises a firstmember 71 c and a second member 71 d. The first member 71 c is providedin the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 as the inner surface of thehousing 5 by, for example, solvent welding. The first member 71 c isfixed to the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7. The first wallportion 71 includes a part formed into an L-shape in cross-section. TheL-shaped part of the first wall member comprises a first wall 71 k fixedto the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 and a second wall 71 jprojecting at an edge of the first wall 71 k. For example, the firstwall portion 71 is made of resin. In other words, for example, the firstwall portion 71 is made of plastic. The first member 71 c functions as avertical wall to enhance the rigidity of the housing 5. The first member71 c is one that is different from the lower wall 7 of the housing 5.The electronic component is not illustrated in FIG. 9.

The second member 71 d is attached to the first member 71 c by, forexample, a double-sided adhesive tape. The second member 71 d abuts onthe circuit board device 38. The leading end of the second member 71 dabuts on a plurality of electronic components mounted on the circuitboard 31. The electronic components have relatively low in height, andtheir heights fall within a predetermined range. The second member 71 dhas a rigidity lower than that of the first member 71 c. The secondmember 71 d is made of an elastic material such as sponge and rubber.The second member 71 d is attached to a first side surface 71 e as theside surface of the first member 71 c. More specifically, the firstmember 71 c comprises the first side surface 71 e that constitutes thefirst ventilation path 91 a and a second side surface 71 f as the rearsurface of the first side surface 71 e, and the second member 71 d isattached to the first side surface 71 e. The first wall portion 71comprises a first abutment surface 71 g at the leading end of the secondmember 71 d. The first abutment surface 71 g extends along the firstportion 38 a of the circuit board device 38 in contact therewith. Thesecond member 71 d is separated from the inner surface of the housing 5.

In the inside of the housing 5, a communication port 92 thatcommunicates the inside and the outside of the first ventilation path 91a is provided between part of the first wall portion 71 and the innersurface 7 a of the lower wall 7 as the inner surface of the housing 5.More specifically, the second member 71 d is not partially provided in aportion that faces the memory slot connector 44 in the first portion 71a of the first wall portion 71, whereby the communication port 92 isprovided between the first member 71 c and the inner surface 7 a of thelower wall 7. The communication port 92 communicates the second chamber62 and the third chamber 63.

The second wall portion 72 is provided between the second portion 38 bof the circuit board device 38 and the inner surface 6 a of the upperwall 6 as the inner surface of the housing 5. The second wall portion 72abuts on the second portion 38 b of the circuit board device 38, and isarranged overlapping the first wall portion 71 with the circuit boarddevice interposed therebetween. The second wall portion 72 constitutes asecond ventilation path 91 b from the ejection port 24 c of the coolingfan 24 to the first exhaust port 26 and the second exhaust port 27through the side of the second portion 38 b of the circuit board device38. At this point, the ventilation path 91 comprises the secondventilation path 91 b and the first ventilation path 91 a.

The second wall portion 72 comprises a first portion 72 a and a secondportion 72 b. The first portion 72 a extends along the first portion 71a of the first wall portion 71 to near the rear portion of the heat sink28 from near the right of the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24.The second portion 72 b extends along the second portion 71 b of thefirst wall portion 71 to near the front portion of the heat sink 28 fromnear the left of the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24. Part ofthe first portion 72 a of the second wall portion 72 is separated fromthe ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 and located at a positionfacing the ejection port 24 c. The second wall portion 72 is provided inthe inner surface 6 a of the upper wall 6 as the upper inner surface ofthe housing 5 by, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape. The secondwall portion 72 is made of an elastic material such as sponge andrubber. The second wall portion 72 is lower than the first wall portion71. The second wall portion 72 comprises a second abutment surface 72 cthat extends along the second portion 38 b of the circuit board device38 in contact therewith. At this point, a first width W1 of the firstabutment surface 71 g in a direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 9)perpendicular to a direction in which the first abutment surface 71 g ofthe first wall portion 71 extends is substantially equal to a secondwidth W2 of the second abutment surface 72 c in a direction (horizontaldirection in FIG. 9) perpendicular to a direction in which the secondabutment surface 72 c extends.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a first projection 65 is provided in the innersurface 6 a of the upper wall 6 as the inner surface of the housing 5.For example, the first projection 65 is a boss that supports the circuitboard 31. A bent portion 72 d that is bent (curved) along the firstprojection 65 is provided in the second wall portion 72. The firstprojection 65 is located outside the bent portion 72 d (outside thesecond ventilation path 91 b). Alternatively, the first projection 65may be located inside the bent portion 72 d (in the second ventilationpath 91 b). The first projection 65 may be provided in the inner surface7 a of the lower wall 7. In this case, a bent portion that is bent(curved) along the first projection 65 may be provided in the first wallportion 71.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a second projection 66 is provided in theinner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 as the inner surface of thehousing 5. The second projection 66 constitutes the first ventilationpath 91 a and is included in the wind shield portion 64. For example,the second projection 66 is a boss that supports the circuit board 31.The edge of the first member 71 c of the first portion 71 a of the firstwall portion 71 is formed in a shape along the second projection 66.Alternatively, the second projection 66 may be provided in the innersurface 6 a of the upper wall 6 to constitute the second ventilationpath 91 b.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 10, the third wall portion 73 is providedbetween the fan case 53 of the cooling fan 24 and the inner surface ofthe housing 5. The third wall portion 73 comprises a first portion 73 aand a second portion 73 b. The first portion 73 a is provided betweenthe lower surface 53 a that is one of a pair of opposing surfaces of thefan case 53 and the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 as the innersurface of the housing 5. The second portion 73 b is provided betweenthe upper surface 53 b as the other of the pair of opposing surfaces ofthe fan case 53 and the inner surface 6 a of the upper wall 6 as theinner surface of the housing 5. The first portion 73 a and the secondportion 73 b are made of an elastic material such as sponge and rubber.The first portion 73 a and the second portion 73 b are attached to thefan case 53 by, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the fourth wall portion 74 is providedbetween the heat sink 28 and the inner surface of the housing 5. Thefourth wall portion 74 comprises a first portion 74 a that is providedbetween the lower surface of the heat sink 28 and the inner surface 7 aof the lower wall 7 and a second portion 74 b that is provided betweenthe upper surface of the heat sink 28 and the inner surface 6 a of theupper wall 6. The first portion 74 a and the second portion 74 b aremade of an elastic material such as sponge and rubber. The first portion74 a and the second portion 74 b are attached to the heat sink 28 by,for example, a double-sided adhesive tape.

The first to fourth wall portions 71, 72, 73, and 74 are examples of anon-conductive member (insulator). In FIG. 8, the component constitutingthe wind shield portion 64 is hatched for the sake of convenience.

A wind shield structure of the first chamber 61 will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the first portion 73 a of the first wallportion 73 is attached to the lower surface 53 a of the cooling fan 24.The first portion 73 a extends in the width direction (the seconddirection D2) of the ejection port 24 c along the ejection port 24 c ofthe cooling fan 24. That is, the first portion 73 a is provided betweenthe first suction port 24 a and the ejection port 24 c to partition thespace inside the housing 5. The first portion 73 a also extends in thefirst direction D1 along the right end of the cooling fan 24. The firstportion 73 a is located opposite the left sidewall 8 c of the housing 5with respect to the first suction port 24 a of the cooling fan 24. Thatis, the first suction port 24 a of the cooling fan 24 is located betweenthe first portion 73 a and the left sidewall 8 c of the housing 5.Therefore, the first portion 73 a extends substantially in an L-shape.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, in the upper surface 53 b of the cooling fan24, the second portion 73 b of the third wall portion 73 is formed to besubstantially plane-symmetrical to the first portion 73 a. That is, thefirst portion 73 a and the second portion 73 b are arranged overlappingeach other with the fan case 53 interposed therebetween. The secondportion 73 b extends in the width direction of the ejection port 24 calong the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24. The second portion73 b is provided between the second suction port 24 b and the ejectionport 24 c to partition the space inside the housing 5. The secondportion 73 b extends in the first direction D1 along the right end ofthe cooling fan 24. The second portion 73 b is provided between theupper surface 53 b of the cooling fan 24 and the inner surface (innersurface of the palm rest 18) of the upper wall 6 of the housing 5.Therefore, the second portion 73 b extends substantially in an L-shape.The third wall portion 73 is compressed in the gap between the fan case53 and the inner surface of the housing 5 to tightly seal the gap.

Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the first chamber 61 surrounded by thethird wall portion 73, the left sidewall 8 c of the housing 5, and thefront wall 8 a of the housing 5 is formed in a corner of the housing 5.That is, the third wall portion 73 partitions the housing 5 into thefirst chamber 61 and the second chamber 62.

In the first embodiment, the third wall portion 73 is provided on thesurface of the cooling fan 24, but not in the region outside the coolingfan 24. That is, in the housing 5, the third wall portion 73 partitionsthe first chamber 61 not completely but partially.

Alternatively, in the housing 5, the third wall portion 73 may extend tothe region out of the cooling fan 24 to completely partition the firstchamber 61. In the first embodiment, the side surface 51 a of the case51 of the storage device 33 subsidiarily forms the wall surface of partof the first chamber 61.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, the first air inlet port 21, thesecond air inlet port 22, and the third air inlet port 23 of the housing5 and the first suction port 24 a and the second suction port 24 b ofthe cooling fan 24 are exposed in the first chamber 61. There is no heatgenerating element mounted on the circuit board 31 in the first chamber61. The first chamber 61 is communicated with the outside of the housing5 through the first air inlet port 21, the second air inlet port 22, andthe third air inlet port 23, and the external air (fresh air) can flowin the first chamber 61. Therefore, the air in the first chamber 61 hasa temperature lower than that of the air in the other chambers.

A wind shield structure of the second chamber 62 will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the second chamber 62 is partitioned into thefirst and third chambers 61 and 63 by the first wall portion 71 and thesecond wall portion 72. Heat generating elements such as the CPU 41 arelocated in the second chamber 62. In combination with the lower wall 7of the housing 5, the first wall portion 71 constitutes the firstventilation path 91 a in the ventilation path 91 having the ductstructure in which cooling wind flows from the cooling fan 24 toward theheat sink 28. In combination with the upper wall 6 of the housing 5, thesecond wall portion 72 constitutes the second ventilation path 91 b (seeFIG. 10) in the ventilation path 91 having the duct structure in whichcooling wind flows from the cooling fan 24 toward the heat sink 28. Thefirst ventilation path 91 a is formed substantially in an L-shape on thefirst surface 31 a of the circuit board 31, i.e., between the circuitboard 31 and the lower wall 7 of the housing 5. The second ventilationpath 91 b is formed substantially in the same L-shape as the firstventilation path 91 a on the second surface 31 b of the circuit board31, i.e., between the circuit board 31 and the upper wall 6 of thehousing 5. The first ventilation path 91 a and the second ventilationpath 91 b are formed substantially plane-symmetrical with respect to thecircuit board 31. The first wall portion 71 is compressed between theinner surface of the housing 5 and the circuit board device 38 totightly seal the gap between the inner surface of the housing 5 and thecircuit board device 38. Therefore, cooling wind sent from the coolingfan 24 is guided by the first wall portion 71 to the heat sink 28.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the CPU 41, the power-circuit component 49,the heat pipe 34, and the radiator plate 35 are located in the firstventilation path 91 a.

The air ejected from the first part 24 ca of the ejection port 24 c ofthe cooling fan 24 flows through the first ventilation path 91 a to thefirst part 28 a of the heat sink 28. The air ejected from the secondpart 24 cb of the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 flows throughthe second ventilation path 91 b to the second part 28 b of the heatsink 28. The gap between the second surface 31 b of the circuit board 31and the upper wall 6 of the housing 5 is smaller than the gap betweenthe first surface 31 a and the lower wall 7 of the housing 5. Electroniccomponents such as the CPU 41, the heat pipe 34, and the heat sink 28are cooled by cooling wind flowing through the first ventilation path 91a and the second ventilation path 91 b

At this point, part of the cooling wind flows in the third chamber 63from the communication port 92, thereby cooling a memory 81 of the thirdchamber 63. The memory slot connector 44 that retains the memory 81 islocated separate from the inner surface of the housing 5, whichsuppresses the transfer of the heat of the memory slot connector 44 tothe housing 5. The third chamber 63 is communicated with the outsidethrough a ventilation port provided in the lower wall 7 of the housing5. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the PCH 42, the memory 81, the ODD 32, andthe storage device 33 are exposed in the third chamber 63. The PCH 42and the memory 81 are not provided with a radiation member and arecooled by natural heat release.

The first part 31 c of the circuit board 31 is exposed to the secondchamber 62. The second part 31 d of the circuit board 31 is exposed tothe third chamber 63. In the housing 5, the components of the firstembodiment partition the third chamber 63 not completely but partially.Incidentally, the third chamber 63 may completely be partitioned.

The operation of the electronic device 1 will be described below withreference to FIGS. 13 to 15 which schematically illustrate the structureof the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, the housing 5 is divided into thefirst chamber 61 and the second chamber 62. A structure (third wallportion 73) that cuts off the flow of the air is provided between thefirst chamber 61 and the second chamber 62. The first suction port 24 aand the second suction port 24 b of the cooling fan 24 are exposed tothe first chamber 61. The ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 isexposed to the second chamber 62. That is, a partial sealing region inwhich the suction ports 24 a and 24 b of the cooling fan 24 are blockedis provided in the corner of the housing 5.

In the cooling fan 24, air is sucked from the outside of the housing 5through the first chamber 61, and the air is ejected from the firstchamber 61 to the second chamber 62. The suction port of the cooling fan24 is not exposed to the second chamber 62 and the third chamber 63.Therefore, the cooling fan 24 sucks very little or almost no air in thesecond chamber 62 and the third chamber 63, which are warmed by the heatgenerating elements such as the CPU 41, the PCH 42, and thepower-circuit component 43.

The cooling fan 24 sucks low-temperature air from the outside of thehousing 5 through the first chamber 61, and ejects the low-temperatureair toward the CPU 41 in the second chamber 62. While, in the firstembodiment, the air inlet ports are provided in the lower wall 7 and theperipheral wall 8 of the housing 5, it will suffice if an air inlet portis provided in at least one of the upper wall 6, the lower wall 7, andthe peripheral wall 8 of the housing 5.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, the ventilation path 91 (the firstventilation path 91 a and the second ventilation path 91 b) that guidescooling wind from the cooling fan 24 toward the heat sink 28 is formedby board components mounted on the circuit board 31 in the housing 5.More specifically, the wall surfaces on both sides of the ventilationpath 91 are formed by the first wall portion 71. That is, the spacesurrounded by the first wall portion 71, the circuit board device 38,and the lower wall 7 and the upper wall 6 of the housing 5 (or thekeyboard 9) constitutes the ventilation path 91.

Therefore, the cooling wind ejected from the cooling fan 24 moves fromthe cooling fan 24 toward the heat sink 28 through the circuit boarddevice 38 along an arrow in FIG. 15. That is, the cooling wind ejectedfrom the cooling fan 24 flows reliably through the CPU 41 and the heatsink 28 in a concentrated manner without spreading widely in the housing5, thereby efficiently cooling the CPU 41 and the heat sink 28.

This structure can improve the cooling efficiency.

For example, a structure in which the suction port in the upper surfaceof the cooling fan has an opening in the housing while the suction portin the lower surface of the cooling fan faces the air inlet port in thelower wall of the housing is taken as an example of the air inletstructure. In this case, the suction port in the upper surface of thecooling fan sucks warmed air in the housing 5 while the suction port inthe lower surface can take in low-temperature external air. Therefore,air ejected from the cooling fan 24 has a certain temperature and cannotefficiently cool the heat sink 28 exposed to the air.

On the other hand, in the structure of the first embodiment, the windshield portion 64 is provided between the suction ports 24 a and 24 band the ejection port 24 c of the cooling fan 24 to at least partiallypartition the space inside the housing 5. Therefore, the air that isejected from the ejection port 24 c and warmed by the CPU 41 and theheat sink 28 is hardly sucked again from the suction ports 24 a and 24b. Thus, the relatively-low-temperature air can be sent to the CPU 41and the heat sink 28 to achieve the improvement of the radiationefficiency.

In the first embodiment, the wind shield portion 64 is provided in thehousing 5 to at least partially partition the first chamber 61 to whichthe air inlet ports 21, 22, and 23 of the housing 5 and the suctionports 24 a and 24 b of the cooling fan 24 are exposed and the secondchamber 62 to which the exhaust ports 26 and 27 of the housing 5, theCPU 41, the heat sink 28, the heat pipe 34, and the ejection port 24 cof the cooling fan 24 are exposed. Thus, air warmed by the CPU 41, theheat sink 28, and the heat pipe 34 is hardly refluxed to the suctionports 24 a and 24 b of the cooling fan 24.

More specifically, in the first embodiment, the first chamber 61 isprovided to take surrounding external air in the housing 5, and both thefirst suction port 24 a in the lower surface 53 a of the cooling fan 24and the second suction port 24 b in the upper surface 53 b are exposedto the first chamber 61. On the other hand, heat generating elementssuch as the CPU 41 are housed in the second chamber 62 that ispartitioned from the first chamber 61. With this structure, in additionto the first suction port 24 a in the lower surface 53 a of the coolingfan 24, the second suction port 24 b in the upper surface 53 b of thecooling fan 24 can also suck not warmed air in the housing 5 butlow-temperature external air.

Thus, the lower-temperature air can be sent to the CPU 41 and the heatsink 28 to achieve the further improvement of the radiation efficiency.In other words, a structure in which the cooling fan 24 incorporated inthe housing 5 sucks air 100% from the outside as much as possible toexhaust (send) the air 100% to the inside of the housing 5 is providedirrespective of the type of the cooling fan.

The cooling fan 24 is a relatively tall (thick) component in thecomponents housed in the housing 5. If the cooling fan 24 is locatedbelow the palm rest 18, the cooling fan 24 can be housed by utilizingthe space below the palm rest 18, where there is a margin with respectto the thickness of the housing 5 compared to the space below thekeyboard placing portion 17. Thus, the housing 5 can be thinner.

At this point, for example, the structure in which the suction port inthe upper surface of the cooling fan has an opening in the housing whilethe suction port in the lower surface faces the air inlet port in thelower wall of the housing is taken again as an example of the air inletstructure. In this case, when the air inlet port in the lower wall ofthe housing is closed from any cause, the suction port in the lowersurface of the cooling fan sucks warmed air in the housing. Thispossibly degrades the cooling efficiency.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the first chamber 61 for theair inlet is provided in the housing 5 and comprises the second airinlet port 22 in addition to the first air inlet port 21. In thisstructure, even if the first air inlet port 21 is closed, the firstchamber 61 is communicated with the outside through the second air inletport 22. The suction ports 24 a and 24 b of the cooling fan 24 areopened to the first chamber 61, and thereby low-temperature external aircan be sucked from the first chamber 61. Thus, the cooling efficiency ishardly degraded even if the air inlet port of the housing 5 is partiallyclosed.

More specifically, if the first air inlet port 21 is provided in thelower wall 7 of the housing 5 while the second air inlet port 22 isprovided in the peripheral wall 8 of the housing 5, it is unlikely thatthe two air inlet ports 21 and 22 are closed at the same time, and thefirst chamber 61 is easily communicated with the outside.

The second heat generating elements, such as the PCH 42, which can becooled by natural heat release is further provided, and the wind shieldportion 64 at least partially partitions the third chamber 63 includingthe second heat generating elements from the first chamber 61 and thesecond chamber 62 in the housing 5. With this, the cooling wind of thecooling fan 24 can be concentrated in the second chamber 62 while airwarmed in the third chamber 63 is hardly sucked by the cooling fan 24.Thus, the cooling efficiency can be improved for the entire device.

In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the CPU 41 is locatedat the outer peripheral portion of the L-shaped first ventilation path91 a in the second chamber 62. When viewed from the side of the ejectionport 24 c, the impeller 54 of the cooling fan 24 is rotated in thedirection (indicated by arrow X of FIG. 8) from the outer peripheralportion of the first ventilation path 91 a to the inner peripheralportion such that high-speed cooling wind reaches the CPU 41. Thus, thecooling effect on the CPU 41 is increased.

In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the heat pipe 34 iscurved into a shape such that it is brought close to the cooling fan 24on the way from the CPU 41 to the heat sink 28, and is connected to theend of the heat sink 28 on the side of the cooling fan 24. With this,the heat pipe 34 can efficiently be exposed to cooling wind.Alternatively, the heat pipe 34 may be formed into a shape such that itis separated from the cooling fan 24 from the CPU 41 toward the heatsink 28. FIG. 8 also illustrates an example of such a shape. In thiscase, a large amount of cooling wind can be sent to the heat sink 28.

In the first embodiment, the first wall portion 71 and the second wallportion 72 are located in the housing 5 with the circuit board device 38therebetween. The first wall portion 71 and the second wall portion 72are equivalent to a pair of wall portions that guide the cooling wind.The first wall portion 71 comprises the second portion 71 b that is anelastic portion abutting on the circuit board device 38 and the firstportion 71 a as a support portion attached to the inner surface of thehousing 5 to support the second portion 71 b. The first wall portion 71is provided between the inner surface of the housing 5 and the circuitboard device 38 with an elastic deformation of the second portion 71 b.The first wall portion 71 is equivalent to a wall portion that guidescooling wind.

In other words, the circuit board device 38 includes a board, a circuitboard, a circuit plate, a wiring plate on which components are mounted,a housing component, or a module. In other words, the first member 71 cis part of the wind introducing member, a support member, a wall, a rib,a protrusion, a projection, or a retention portion. The ventilation path91 (first ventilation path 91 a and second ventilation path 92 a) is awind introducing path, a region, a first region, a portion surrounded bythe board, the inside wall of the housing 5, and the wind introducingmember (first wall portion 71, second wall portion 72, third wallportion 73, and fourth wall portion 74), or a portion between thecooling fan 24 and the exhaust ports 26 and 27. The wind introducingmember (first wall portion 71, second wall portion 72, third wallportion 73, and fourth wall portion 74) is a wall, a rib, a protrusion,a projection, a retention portion, part of the wind introducing member,or a deformable member or material having flexibility or elasticity. Thesecond member 71 d in the wind introducing member is made of a materialhaving a rigidity lower than that of the first member 71 c. The top,bottom, left, and right described above can be reworded by “first”,“second”, “third”, and “fourth”. The “top and bottom” can be reworded byone and the other. The “left and right” can be reworded by one and theother.

In the first embodiment, the first wall portion 71 constituting thefirst ventilation path 91 a and the second wall portion 72 constitutingthe second ventilation path 91 b are arranged overlapping each otherwith the circuit board device 38 interposed therebetween. Accordingly,action of a shear force on the circuit board device 38 is suppressedbetween the first wall portion 71 and the second wall portion 72. Thus,according to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress anincrease in load on the circuit board 31 as well as to improve thecooling efficiency by the cooling fan 24. The shear force acts on thecircuit board device 38 if the first wall portion 71 and the second wallportion 72 are arranged not overlapping each other but shifted from eachother.

In the first embodiment, the first wall portion 71 comprises the firstmember 71 c provided in the inner surface of the housing 5 and thesecond member 71 d, which is attached to the first member 71 c to abuton the circuit board device 38 and has a rigidity lower than that of thefirst member 71 c. The first wall portion 71 is provided between theinner surface of the housing 5 and the circuit board device 38.Accordingly, the second member 71 d is strongly supported by the firstmember 71 c while the load on the circuit board device 38 is suppressedby the second member 71 d. With this, the second member 71 d can beprevented from falling over due to cooling wind. Thus, according to thefirst embodiment, it is possible to suppress an increase in load on thecircuit board 31 as well as to improve the cooling efficiency by thecooling fan 24.

Modifications of the first embodiment will be described below. Elementscorresponding to those of the first embodiment will be designated by thesame reference numerals, and their description will not be repeated. Themodifications are of the same structure as the first embodiment exceptthose described below.

A first modification will be described with reference to FIG. 17. In thefirst modification, one of the first width W1 of the first abutmentsurface 71 g in a direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 17)perpendicular to a direction in which the first abutment surface 71 g ofthe first wall portion 71 extends and the second width W2 of the secondabutment surface 72 c in a direction (the horizontal direction in FIG.17) perpendicular to a direction in which the second abutment surface 72c of the second wall portion 72 extends is larger than the other. In thefirst modification, the first width W1 of the first abutment surface 71g is larger than the second width W2 of the second abutment surface 72c. With this, even if there is a difference in shape between the secondwall portion 72 and the first wall portion 71, the difference isabsorbed, and the second wall portion 72 and the first wall portion 71can be arranged overlapping each other.

The first member 71 c of the second portion 71 b of the first wallportion 71 constitutes a support wall of the storage device 33 tosupport the storage device 33. The first member 71 c constitutes apositioning wall of the storage device 33 to position the storage device33. The storage device 33 is an example of a component or a module whichis supported and positioned by the first member 71 c.

A first insulator 86 as a plate-like member and a second insulator 87 asa plate-like member are provided in the first modification. The firstinsulator 86 and the second insulator 87 are plate-like members havingan insulation property. The first insulator 86 and the second insulator87 also have a heat shield property and a sound insulating property. Thefirst insulator 86 adheres to the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7between the first portion 71 a and the second portion 71 b of the firstwall portion 71 by a double-sided adhesive tape. The second insulator 87adheres to the inner surface 6 a of the upper wall 6 between the firstportion 72 a and the second portion 72 b of the second wall portion 72by a double-sided adhesive tape.

In the first modification, the first member 71 c of the first wallportion 71 is fixed to the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 byscrews 93. More specifically, the first wall 71 k of the first member 71c is fixed to the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 by the screws93. That is, the first member 71 c is screwed to the lower wall 7. Inthis manner, the first member 71 c can strongly be fixed to the lowerwall 7 by fixing the first member 71 c to the lower wall 7 with thescrews 93. In the example of FIG. 17, after the first member 71 c isfixed to the lower wall 7 by the screws 93, the second member 71 d isattached to the first member 71 c by a double-sided adhesive tape, whichallows the first member 71 c to be easily fixed to the lower wall 7.

A second modification will be described with reference to FIG. 18. Inthe second modification, the first insulator 86 is located between thesecond member 71 d of the first wall portion 71 and the inner surface 7a of the lower wall 7. That is, the first insulator 86 as a plate-likemember is attached to the inner surface of the housing 5 while locatedbetween the inner surface of the housing 5 and the second member 71 d.The second insulator 87 is located between the second wall portion 72and the inner surface 6 a of the upper wall 6. That is, the second wallportion 72 is attached to the housing 5 with the second insulator 87interposed therebetween.

A third modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 19A and19B. In the third modification, the first insulator 86 is previouslyattached to the first wall portion 71 to constitute a wall unit 88. Thefirst insulator 86 is attached to the first member 71 c by, for example,a double-sided adhesive tape. The first insulator 86 is attached to thehousing 5 by, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape. Accordingly, inthe third modification, a wall unit 88 comprises the first insulator 86as a plate-like member attached to the first wall portion 71 and thefirst member 71 c, and the first insulator 86 is attached to the innersurface of the housing 5.

The second insulator 87 is previously attached to the second wallportion 72 to constitute a wall unit 89. The second insulator 87 isattached to the second wall portion 72 by, for example, a double-sidedadhesive tape. The second insulator 87 is attached to the housing 5 by,for example, a double-sided adhesive tape. Accordingly, in the thirdmodification, the wall unit 89 comprises the second insulator 87 as aplate-like member attached to the second wall portion 72, and the secondinsulator 87 is attached to the inner surface of the housing 5.

With this structure, the first wall portion 71 and the second wallportion 72 can easily be attached to the housing 5.

An insertion portion 71 h in which the second member 71 d is inserted isprovided in the first member 71 c of the first wall portion 71. Theinsertion portion 71 h is formed in a groove shape. With this, thesecond member 71 d can easily attached to the first member 71 c, and thesecond member 71 d can more strongly be supported by the first member 71c.

A fourth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 20. Inthe fourth modification, the first portion 74 a and the second portion74 b of the fourth wall portion 74 comprise overhang portions 74 c and74 d extending from the heat sink 28 toward the circuit board 31,respectively. The overhang portions 74 c and 74 d are each formed in atapered and curved shape such that the thicknesses decreases in theextending direction. With this, the resistance of the fourth wallportion 74 against cooling wind can be decreased to efficiently guidefaster cooling wind to the heat sink 28.

A fifth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 21. In thefifth modification, the fan case 53 of the cooling fan 24 is curvedalong the front wall 8 a of the housing 5, and the impeller 54 is alsocurved along the front wall 8 a. More specifically, the fan case 53comprises a curved portion 53 e in the peripheral wall 53 c, and thecurved portion 53 e is curved along the front wall 8 a. The impeller 54comprises a rectangular base 54 a and an extended portion 54 b thatextends from the base 54 a toward the peripheral wall 53 c. The extendedportion 54 b is curved along the curvature of the front wall 8 a suchthat the thickness of the extended portion 54 b decreases toward theleading end.

In this structure, the extended portion 54 b is curved and extendedalong the curvature of the front wall 8 a. Thus, an air volume by theimpeller 54 can be increased by the extended portion 54 b.

A sixth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 22. In thesixth modification, curved portions 71 m are formed in the corners ofthe L-shaped ventilation paths 91 in the first wall portion 71 and thesecond wall portion 72 (not illustrated in FIG. 22). With this, theresistance against cooling wind flowing through the ventilation path 91can be reduced.

A seventh modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and24. As illustrated in FIG. 23, in the seventh modification, a pluralityof first members 71 c are provided in the first portion 71 a of thefirst wall portion 71 while separated from one another. In other words,the first portion 71 a is provided as being divided. The first member 71c is partially provided in the corner (i.e., a corner portion or a bentportion) of the first wall portion 71. The first member 71 c is providedat the end of the first wall portion 71 in the extended direction. Thefirst members 71 c are coupled by the second member 71 d. The secondmember 71 d connects between the first members 71 c. As illustrated inFIG. 24, the extended direction along the inner surface 7 a of the lowerwall 7 is bent in one of the first members 71 c, and the second member71 d is located on the inner peripheral side, in particular, on theinner peripheral side of the second wall 71 j. In the first members 71c, the second member 71 d may be located on the outer peripheral side,in particular, on the outer peripheral side of the second wall 71 j.While the seventh modification is described by way of example as beingapplied to the first portion 71 a comprising the L-shaped portion ofFIG. 9, it may be applied to the first portion 71 a having the verticalwall shape of FIG. 18 or the first portion 71 a comprising the recessedinsertion portion 71 h of FIG. 19A. That is, the first member 71 c maybe present on one side or on both sides in the width direction of thesecond member 71 d.

In this manner, the first members 71 c are provided separate from oneanother in the corners of the first wall portion 71. Thus, the secondmember 71 d can well be supported while the weight of the first wallportion 71 is reduced.

An eighth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 25. Aportion illustrated in FIG. 25 is equivalent to that of FIG. 24 in theelectronic device 1. The first wall portion 71 of the eighthmodification is basically the same as previously described in theseventh modification except that one of the first portions 71 a includesa third projection (hereinafter designated by numeral 71 a). The thirdprojection 71 a as the first portion is provided in the inner surface 7a of the lower wall 7. For example, the third projection 71 a is a bossthat supports a component such as the circuit board 31 in the housing 5.In this manner, in the eighth modification, the third projection 71 a issubstituted for the first portion. The second member 71 d is curvedalong the outer periphery of the third projection 71 a. That is, thethird projection 71 a is located on the inner peripheral side of thecorner of the second member 71 d. In other words, the third projection71 a is located at an internal angle of the second member 71 d. In otherwords, the projection is a protrusion or a protruding portion.

As described above, the third projection 71 a is located on the innerperipheral side of the corner of the second member 71 d. Thus, thesecond member 71 d can be attached to the third projection 71 a byadhesion while entrained about the third projection 71 a. Thisfacilitates the attachment of the second member 71 d. In this case,since the second member 71 d is positioned as being hooked over thethird projection 71 a, it is not necessary to bond the third projection71 a and the second member 71 d together.

A ninth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 26. In theninth modification, a case 33 a of the storage device (for example, HDD)33 serves as the first member of the second portion 72 b of the firstwall portion 71. That is, a side surface 3 b of the case 33 a of thestorage device 33 supports the second member 71 d of the second portion72 b. The second member 71 d is attached to a side surface 3 b of thecase 33 a by, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape. The storagedevice 33 is an example of a relatively tall component. The storagedevice 33 is an example of a module. That is, the second member 71 d maybe attached to not only the dedicated first member 71 c but also anothercomponent. In other words, another component is used as the first member71 c as a double-use portion, i.e., another component is substituted forthe first member 71 c. The double-use portion has the first function aswell as the second function of supporting the second member 71 d. In thecase 33 a of the storage device 33, the first function is to store andprotect a storage module of the storage device 33.

In this manner, the second member 71 d as the double-use portion isattached to the case 33 a of the storage device 33. Thus, the ductstructure can be relatively simplified and thereby obtained at low cost.The use of the double-use portion is not limited to the storage device33, but the double-use portion may be used in the fan case 53 or the ODD32.

A tenth modification will be described with reference to FIG. 27. In thetenth modification, the first member 71 c of the first wall portion 71is integrally formed with the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7 asthe inner surface of the housing 5. For example, the first member 71 cis a rib (protrusion or projection) projected from the inner surface 7 aof the lower wall 7. The housing 5 and the first member 71 c are a resinintegrated molding product. In this manner, the first member 71 c isintegrally formed with the inner surface 7 a of the lower wall 7, whichfurther enhances the rigidity of the housing 5. Besides, there is noneed of attaching the first member 71 c to the inner surface 7 a of thelower wall 7, which reduces burden on the operator.

A display device 111 according to a second embodiment will be describedbelow with reference to FIG. 28. Elements corresponding to those of thefirst embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, andtheir description will not be repeated. The second embodiment is of thesame structure as the first embodiment except those described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 28, the display device 111 comprises a housing 5and a display panel 16 housed in the housing 5. The display device 111may be, for example, a television. The housing 5 has the same structureas previously described in the first embodiment or the modificationsthereof.

With the display device 111 having this structure, the coolingefficiency can be improved as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, it ispossible to suppress an increase in load on the circuit board as well asto improve the cooling efficiency of the cooling fan.

Incidentally, for example, in the housing 5, it is not always necessaryto partition the third chamber 63, but it is only necessary to partitionthe first chamber 61 and the second chamber 62. It is not alwaysnecessary to form the ventilation path 91. Instead of the wall portion,part (for example, rib) of the housing 5 may be used to partition thefirst chamber 61, the second chamber 62, and the third chamber 63. It isnot always necessary that the first suction port 24 a be oriented towardthe air inlet port 21 of the lower wall 7. The first wall portion 71 andthe second wall portion 72 may extend to the side of the cooling fan 24.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

1. A display device comprising: a housing comprising an exhaust port; acircuit board device in the housing, comprising a circuit boardcomprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the firstsurface, a first portion comprising the first surface, and a secondportion comprising the second surface, the second portion being oppositethe first portion with respect to the circuit board; a fan comprising anejection port, the fan being disposed in the housing at a positionseparated from the exhaust port, and the fan being configured to sendmove air from the ejection port toward the first portion and the secondportion of the circuit board device; a first wall portion between aninner surface of the housing and the first portion and abutting thefirst portion, the first wall portion being configured to form at leastpart of a first ventilation path extending from the ejection portthrough a side of the first portion of the circuit board device to theexhaust port; and a second wall portion between the inner surface of thehousing and the second portion and abutting the second portion, thesecond wall portion overlapping the first wall portion with the circuitboard device between the first wall portion and the second wall portion,the second wall portion being configured to format least part of asecond ventilation path extending from the ejection port through a sideof the second portion of the circuit board device to the exhaust port.2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the inner surface of thehousing comprises an upper inner surface and a lower inner surface, thecircuit board device is located between the upper inner surface and thelower inner surface, the first wall portion is in the lower innersurface of the housing, and the second wall portion is in the upperinner surface of the housing.
 3. The display device of claim 1, whereinthe first wall portion and the second wall portion are at positionsfacing the ejection port.
 4. The display device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first projection in the inner surface of the housing; anda bent portion in at least the first wall portion or the second wallportion, the bent portion being bent along the first projection.
 5. Thedisplay device of claim 1, further comprising a second projection in theinner surface of the housing configured to form at least part of thefirst ventilation path or the second ventilation path.
 6. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein the first wall portion comprises a firstabutment surface that abuts the first portion and extends along thefirst portion, the second wall portion comprises a second abutmentsurface that abuts the second portion and extends along the secondportion, and a first width of the first abutment surface in a directionperpendicular to a direction in which the first abutment surface extendsis substantially equal to a second width of the second abutment surfacein a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the second abutmentsurface extends.
 7. The display device of claim 1, wherein the firstwall portion comprises a first abutment surface that abuts the firstportion and extends along the first portion, the second wall portioncomprises a second abutment surface that abuts the second portion andextends along the second portion, and either a first width of the firstabutment surface in a direction perpendicular to a direction in whichthe first abutment surface extends or a second width of the secondabutment surface in a direction perpendicular to a direction in whichthe second abutment surface extends is larger than either the secondwidth or the first width.
 8. The display device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a fan case comprising a pair of opposing surfaces facing theinner surface of the housing, a side surface between the opposingsurfaces, and the ejection port in the side surface of the fan case; anda third wall portion between the opposing surface and the inner surfaceof the housing.
 9. The display device of claim 1, further comprising: anelectronic component in at least the first ventilation path or thesecond ventilation path, and mounted on the circuit board; a heat sinkin the housing at a position facing the exhaust port, the heat sinkforming at least part of the first ventilation path and the secondventilation path; a heat pipe that connects the electronic component andthe heat sink; and a fourth wall portion between the heat sink and theinner surface of the housing.
 10. The display device of claim 1, whereinat least the first portion or the second portion comprises an electroniccomponent.
 11. An electronic device comprising: a housing; a circuitboard device in the housing; a fan configured to move air to the circuitboard device; and a pair of wall portions in the housing, with thecircuit board device between the wall portions, the wall portions beingconfigured to guide the air from the fan.